FORT BRAGG, N.C. — The 82nd Airborne Division will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Green Ramp accident that killed 24 of the Division’s Paratroopers during a ceremony March 24 at 11 a.m. at Pax Shed 2 on Pope Field. Green Ramp is a staging area used by the U.S. Army and Air Force to prepare for and conduct joint operations.

On March 23, 1994, an F-16D Falcon collided with a C-130 Hercules transport plane while both were trying to land at Pope Air Force Base. The F-16 pilots ejected as the fighter plummeted to the ground, ricocheting across the tarmac and sliding into one of two parked C-141 Starlifters.

Both planes exploded in flames, hurling searing-hot metal through the air and spewing 55,000 gallons of fuel onto Green Ramp. The debris-filled fireball that erupted swirled across the staging area where Paratroopers were preparing for airborne operations and took the lives of the 24 Paratroopers and injured more than 80 others. This is considered to be the largest loss of life for the Division in peacetime since the end of World War II.

“Twenty years ago today, disaster struck the Fort Bragg community,” said Maj. Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr., commander of the 82nd Airborne Division. “As a community, we grieved for those who were killed and wounded during the tragic accident at Green Ramp. Now, as a community, we are remembering and honoring the Paratroopers who lost their lives and those who suffered severe injuries on that day.”

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Editor’s Note:

1. For more information, please contact the 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs Office at 910-432-0661.

2. Media interested in attending this event must RSVP no later than March 21 at 4 p.m.